[REQ] Podcast handling additions, please

[jduffus]

I think MediaMonkey's podcasting features need some additions. Let me suggest a few for your consideration...

1. The podcast "directory" inside seems outdated and not particularly useful. I can't seem to search against whatever source is in there. Plus, I wonder how up to date it really is?

2. Maybe the directory is nowadays unnecessary, but adding a podcast to MM could be easier. Typically nowadays, podcasts include links to Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart, and maybe, if you're lucky, a straight RSS feed. Can MM do a better job of handling feed URLs from different providers?

3. Once you collect several dozen podcast subscriptions, you tend to want to mark some episodes as "played" without actually playing them. I find I do that by going to Properties - Details and setting playcount to 1. How about a checkbox next to each episode where I can do that? I often sync unheard podcasts to MMA (I use the beta) to listen while I walk my dog, using an auto-playlist that gives me the 10 oldest podcasts that are unheard.

4. Which brings me to MMA, and the need to add a 15- or 30-second skip forward control somewhere in that interface, for mobile users who want to skip over the ads during podcasts. I can hold the advance button down, but a tap is better than trying to time a long-press.

Just some feature feedback.

[jduffus]

Following up on my earlier request #4 above, I recently tried out a competitor's Android app called Musicolet which implements this feature in a very nice, flexible way. It's possible in Musicolet to fast-forward a track by 10 seconds on the default setting. Plus, if you long-press the fast forward button, the app lets you choose how many seconds the app will skip ahead or backwards. This is a GREAT feature for those of us who listen to podcast and want to quickly skip intro music and ads.

Please consider this feature addition for MMA.

[rusty]

Re. podcast management features, fyi, MMA's current functionality is designed to work in conjunction with MMW's podcast management features (rather than as a standalone product). But yeah, we hope to improve this in the future.

Re. advancing forward (or back) within a track: tap-hold the NEXT button. The longer you hold it, the further forward it advances within the current track.

-Rusty

[jduffus]

Yes, but that is inconvenient for podcasts. Ad placements are typically 30 or 60 seconds, so having the ability to skip past an ad with two taps rather than a sustained press is much more convenient. The added option of setting the skip time, as Musicolet does, is even better. EVEN BETTER THAN THAT would be tying the variable skip to a long-press of the skip-forward or skip-back capability on most earphones, allowing the user to skip the desired seconds without taking his phone out of his pocket.

[gordol]

IMO, podcasts in MMA should either be updated/improved to work stand-alone from the desktop or removed entirely.